Thousands to benefit from £27m skills funding

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre has used previous funding from WMCA to provide a technician boot camp

More training programmes will be run across the West Midlands after funding of £27m was announced.

The boot camps will help to up-skill at least 6,000 people in industries like manufacturing along with creative sectors where demand for workers is high.

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) said the scheme would be free of charge for residents within the region who wanted to get better qualified.

Mayor Andy Street said he was determined to support all of the sectors, despite the problems that Birmingham City Council was facing.

"We still have to think about the future of our regional economy and people have to think about where their jobs are going to be in the future," he said.

The WMCA said the government funding was the largest of its kind in the UK and was almost double the £15.5m received for the boot camps last year.

Logan Powell is attending a 12-week theatre technician bootcamp

Logan Powell is taking part in a theatre technician bootcamp at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, which benefited from the previous funding.

He said the course, which runs for 12 weeks, has taught him many skills like learning how to rig theatre lights.

"The first week my brain was just frazzled in the best way. I learnt so much," he said.

WMCA said the boot camps have been designed to meet the needs of businesses in fast-growing sectors where the demand for skilled workers was highest.

People who live in the area covered by the West Midlands Combined Authority can attend them free of charge.

Councillor George Duggins, leader of Coventry City Council, said: "This substantial funding will enable us to continue and further develop an offer for people to retrain and upskill, supporting our aim to create a talented workforce and further strengthen the backbone of our region’s economy.”